Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I was really glad to hear these witnesses today. I know that you have first-hand experience in providing services around food security in the north.
I want to say to Mr. Thorhaug, I've been in your facility in Iqaluit and I've been very impressed with the work that you've been doing there.
Mr. Wilson, I'm a C3 alumnus too. I had the pleasure of travelling with MP Adam van Koeverden and saw him in that Inuit canoe. He was pretty awesome, let me tell you.
I know that we also have another guest coming up from Arctic Fresh. I've toured their facilities as well. I want to acknowledge the good work that's being done.
I also want to say that over the past year we've talked a little bit about the CERB program. There have been over 10,000 Nunavummiut who have received the CERB program. That's more than one in four of every resident. When you look at these programs that we're translating into benefits on the ground over the last year, everything from caregiver benefits to the emergency response benefit in particular, there has been over $100 million in new money that has been generated in that economy. That's why we've been able to see things like a little less pressure on the food banks and other services.
However, having said that, we know that the demand is still there. This year, in the budget we added $163 million in additional funding for food security. That's in addition to what is currently being paid out now under the harvester support program, which, in its first years, has already been shown to be successful, and there are many opportunities to build on that program to meet the need for food security of traditional foods. Also, it's in addition to what we currently pay out to supplement nutritious foods like those that come through the North West Company and through other companies across that region.
I hear several things from people on the ground on a regular basis. One is that they want to have the ability for direct ordering. What do you think is the role that government can play in that and how do you see that translating on the ground?
We also get requests for subsidized shipping for online orders. Is there a role for the Government of Canada, and how do you see that we could play a role in seeing some of these things materialize?
Of course, the other one is with regard to an income supplement. As I said, this past year, over $100 million in additional money went into the local economy, into families' pockets, into homes. We also added more money into food banks, food services, seniors networks. In addition to that, we paid out money directly to Inuit-based governments, which they could use for both food security vouchers and heat security vouchers for residents.
All of these things we've seen are making a difference. How do we improve on it and how do we ensure that people have more options for food security than what they have today?
I'm going to listen to what the panellists have to say. You can speak from your perspective of the services you currently deliver, or maybe you have thoughts that are outside of what what you're currently doing that we'd be interested in hearing.